I honestly haven't lived a lot of places. My parents have lived where they live today for 42 years and I grew up there. My dad was in the navy when I was born and I went home to my grandmother's house. Then dad came and picked us up and we went back to NJ for a little more than a year.

But the first house my parents owned together was a little 2 Bedroom 1 Bath where I lived for about 8 years. There was a vacant wooded lot next door that felt like "big woods" when I was a little girl, but it's cleared now and seems really small when I drive by. But I have a lot of memories made there.

My grand parents lived right up the street from there. My great grandmother (Nanny) lived just once house past my grandparents. I had cousins on my same street and more cousins right around the corner. It was a time when kids played outside and all the kids in the neighborhood played together. I have really great memories of friends, neighbors, and relatives hanging out in the tiny living room. That's my neighbor Penney, my Cousin Terri and my dad playing Monopoly with me (don't you love my striped pants?).

Winters were spent inside and the rest of the year we played outside. I was torn between the excitement of getting my own room and the missing my friends in the neighborhood when we moved from that house. When I read Paul's post I thought I was going to write about a historic house that had been divided into apartments that I lived in when I was 20. But in looking for photos I decided that his little house that was tiny and my parents first house they owned was the one. It's near and dear to my heart.

Yup, lots of happy memories were made it that little home. It's only about 10 miles from where I am right at this moment and I drive by from time to time. It was across the store from a store where I had my fist "job" I got paid 25 cents for picking up the trash from the parking lot and bagging purchases for the afternoon. I'm pretty sure I got a coke or an icee as well.

The photos are of my first Christmas there. A turkey I won at Thanksgiving by being the correct caller when I heard the gobble on the radio. Another Christmas with my dolly named Susan. The photo of the folks on the sofa are my dad's parents and my mom's grandmother and my daddy. The big group of kids are... one of my birthday parties. And the last one is with us playing a table top pool game that we spent a LOT of time playing. The little kid is my brother and the big kid is my youngest uncle. I apparently didn't want to ham it up for the camera that day.

Thanks for making me remember that house and those friends.

I'd love to help you find that first home to make memories that your family will treasure. Give me a call.